On November 30th, 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT and forever changed the world. ChatGPT was not like any other AI program that came before it. You could ask it questions and converse with it, and it interacted with you as if you were speaking with a person. ChatGPT marks a great leap in natural language processing and elaborate response generation. It has been a few years since the initial release of this chatbot, and AI has only been growing better and more complex.
With the continuing evolution of generative AI, companies have been working hard to capitalize on its growing potential. Nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to find a big corporation that is not pushing its new generative AI tools on all its platforms. With that said, one industry that has seen some of the most expansion of AI tools and programs is digital marketing. With the ability to streamline and expedite marketing tasks and accelerate content creation, AI digital marketing is the future of marketing strategy.
The Role Of AI in SEO
Google has been utilizing AI in search results for years. With the introduction of RankBrain in 2015 and other AI algorithms, such as MUM in 2021, machine learning has had a huge influence on Google search engine optimization.
Google uses its AI algorithms to identify searcher intent and give them the best possible answer to their queries. For example, if a user searches using the words “buy” or “purchase,” Google’s AI will serve them products and shopping pages. However, if a searcher uses words such as “do” or “how,” the algorithm will give them articles and informational pages. When it comes to more complicated language, machine learning will analyze customer data to figure out the pattern of user behavior and serve search results that match the pattern.
Using machine learning helps their algorithms understand a bit more about semantics and the connotations of different searches. This way, no matter what people are searching, Google will be able to guide them to the answer they are looking for.
AI-Powered Features In Google Search
Search engines have also been implementing AI tools to aid in people’s search queries. Some programs people may be familiar with include voice search and visual search with Google Lens.
Searchers interact with these AI tools, and then these programs use their data analysis to understand what is being asked and how to answer it. Voice search uses natural language processing, NLP, to interpret audio speech into a format that is understood by the program.
Google Lens and other visual search programs also help provide accurate answers for users. They can be used to search for things in several ways. Some significant examples include learning about your surroundings, translating signs and text in real-time, and searching for products by image.
Google AI Overviews and Gemini
As Google works to improve customer satisfaction, it creates more tools and features to give the best answers as quickly as possible. With recent improvements in AI models, they have been implementing more advanced AI features in their search results and applications.
Google AI Overviews
One prominent AI feature introduced to Google search results in 2024 is Google AI Overviews. These are quick summaries and answers created through generative AI that appear at the top of the search engine results page. This section will have generated text that aims to answer search queries in a succinct manner. Along with the text are links and sometimes images or videos that lead to further areas to address the topic.
This section has become an essential area for search engine optimization, as it is at the top of the page and can link to your content. A few suggestions on optimizing for Google AI Overviews involve:
- Ranking well on Google’s search results
- Targeting informational keywords and topics
- Optimize for applicable questions and long-tail searches
- Matching user intent
Google’s Gemini AI Model
In response to competition in searches and AI chatbots, Google has created its AI model, Gemini. This program is an advanced AI-powered assistant that utilizes machine learning to help in searches and a number of tasks. A few key tasks that Gemini can do include:
- Search: Ask it questions, and it will provide answers, along with links and references
- Text generation: Have it write emails, blogs, and ad copy
- Information Summarization: Give it complicated text, and it will summarize it, providing overviews and concise answers
- Creative Assistance: Use it to brainstorm ideas and create generated images
- Data Analysis: Make it analyze trends and insights from data from spreadsheets or other sources
Gemini’s Impact On SEO
One of the main ways that Gemini has changed the SEO landscape is that people are using it as the primary voice assistant on their phones. So when people are using voice search on their mobile device, there is a high possibility that they will be asking Gemini their questions.
Voice search optimization has already been a hot topic for marketing efforts, but with more and more people interacting with AI chatbots, voice search will see more prominence in SEO marketing. As a result, SEO strategies are evolving to keep up with the latest technologies.
One change that marketing experts have observed is the increase in longer and more conversational searches. People talk more naturally when doing a voice search than when doing a text search. So, keywords are turning into keyphrases or even key sentences. Voice searches will change optimization to focus on longer long-tail keywords and provide content in a more conversational format.
A few ideas for optimizing for voice search involve:
- Giving answers for local searches
- Providing FAQ-styled content
- Including more question words in your keyphrases
- Writing content in a conversational format
Influence of AI on SEO Marketing Strategy
As Google and other search engines integrate more AI features into their platforms, SEO is going to have to keep up with the changes. There will be a bigger push to optimize for AI algorithms and even chatbots. Getting familiar with these programs will be essential in tackling the problem of optimizing for them.
Another change brought on by AI is the need to improve the quality of web pages, content creation, and data structure. Google already strives to give the best results possible. However, as AI gets more complex, it will get better at understanding searcher intent and delivering the best answers to queries. If your web page is not high enough quality, you may struggle to be found on any results page.
The quality of SEO work needs to improve in order to increase your rank. Work on improving page speed, site organization, content quality, structured data, and providing conversational answers. Another essential thing is optimizing for intent and user behavior. This includes using supporting keywords, structuring the web page to fulfill intent, and delivering unique content.
AI Digital Marketing and Content Creation
AI digital marketing is impacting not just SEO but also other marketing efforts. With the advancement of AI-generated content, people are able to make text, images, and videos for marketing materials. This means that creating content for web pages, social media posts, and advertisements will be expedited through the use of artificial intelligence.
Writing with AI in Digital Marketing
Programs such as ChatGPT and Gemini are great for writing blogs, articles, and social media copy. They can pull from their data sets and provide conversational content based on your prompt. There are other AI tools that provide unique benefits in content writing. A few notable examples are:
- Claude: Analyzes documents and has an ethical AI focus to reduce harmful content generation
- Perplexity: Utilizes real-time information and provides follow-up questions to prompts
- Writesonic: Writes a variety of content and has tools to help brainstorm ideas
- INK Editor: Provides a variety of SEO-focused writing tools
- Jasper: Writes content with a marketing focus and tools for maintaining a “brand voice”
Using these programs can help reduce the time it takes to write articles and content. It may also help you generate ideas and deal with writer’s block. In fact, we used ChatGPT to help create the outline for this article.
Image Generation Using AI
Many design platforms, like Adobe and Canva, are implementing machine learning into their programs. Even Google’s Gemini can generate images based on prompts. Here is an example we made in Gemini using the prompt, “make an image of a cute happy puppy wearing black frame glasses looking at a computer monitor while typing on a keyboard.”
Before, a skilled expert would have to find the right images and combine them in a program like Photoshop. Or even have an artist spend hours drawing and creating the image. Now, practically anyone can try their hand at creating what they want with just some prompts.
AI Video Generation
Not only can AI tools make images, but they are gradually evolving to make AI-generated videos as well. When AI video first came out, the results looked like a fever dream. With advancements in AI video generation, it can now make full, coherent videos that, at times, can look very realistic. Take a look at this ad from Coca-Cola that is made entirely with AI (Make sure your device volume isn’t too high first):
Things To Keep In Mind With AI-Generated Content
The process of creating content with AI tools will help speed up turnaround time and allow anyone to create amazing text, images, and videos. However, there are still a few things to be aware of when using AI in the content creation process.
- Avoid Plagiarism: Due to using other people’s data for references, there is a possibility that AI-generated results could infringe copyright.
- Ensure Authenticity: AI can’t bring real experience to content. Even when using AI content, ensure that you add genuine experience and authenticity to reach your human audience.
- Balance AI & Human Creativity: People are getting better at telling when something is AI-generated. There is also a stigma that AI content is cheap and soulless. Have someone review the AI content and make adjustments to bring in the human element.
Tips For Improving AI Content Creation
AI tools are not perfect. It is not as simple as typing something in and getting exactly what you want. Just like any other tool, there are skills and techniques you can learn to improve your results.
- One of the best ways to improve your AI-generated content is to familiarize yourself with them. Play around with the different tools you want to use and get creative. Only once you learn how they work and respond will you know how to direct them to do what you want.
- Another way to improve your use of AI tools is learning prompt engineering. This is a skilled approach to interacting with AI tools. Some prompt engineering tactics include writing clear instructions or splitting complex tasks into simpler parts.
- Finally, don’t neglect to review your AI content. The AI tools can get things wrong and provide incorrect information. It may even generate inaccurate results, such as adding extra limbs or fingers to people in image generation. Don’t blindly rely on AI. Having a human review AI content will help reduce errors and mistakes.
AI Learning in Advertising
Another area where AI digital marketing has been developing is in advertising. There are several platforms that use AI to deliver content to the intended audience at the right time. Google Ads, Meta Ads, and even social platforms like TikTok utilize advanced algorithms to identify users’ interests and needs.
Target Audience and Machine Learning
A trait of machine learning algorithms is that they identify patterns and can respond accordingly. As people use digital platforms, their actions are recorded and identified. Based on previous data analysis, the AI can then provide the appropriate ads. Learning what categories and keywords fit your target audience will help you improve your ad results.
AI Choosing Ad Placements
Another aspect that AI performs well at is providing the right placement for ad content. With all the different ways an ad can be displayed on Facebook, for example, it may be hard to find the optimal placement manually. AI can analyze customer data across a wide range of users and determine the best-performing placements to display your ads.
Generative Ad Creative
Platforms are starting to push for AI to make generative content or changes to your uploaded content. These options can make improvements, such as adding content to your text, images, or video. As the AI works with the content, it can test to see what performs the best.
Advice for AI Advertising
As with content creation, there are things that you can do to improve your ad results using AI. We will list a handful of things to help you get started:
- Know your audience: The AI improves your ads performance. You still need to lay the groundwork by knowing your audience, their interest, and what content resonates with them.
- Provide enough content for testing: The more data an AI is able to analyze, the more accurate its results can be. When you are making ads, provide plenty of text, images, and videos. Give enough variety for the AI to identify patterns and improve your ads.
- Look into the tools: Every ad platform will be different. Search the internet for guides on how the AI tools work. There may be some options available to you that are not apparent on the surface.
AI Digital Marketing
AI has been and will continue to be a big part of digital marketing. In fact, with the continuing advancements in AI technology, it will become an essential cornerstone of any marketing strategy. This is the beginning of a huge revolution in the digital marketing industry.
SEO has been using AI for a while, but now it is becoming more accurate at providing the best results. Content creation is becoming less time-consuming and of higher quality with AI. Delivering engaging advertisements to your intended audience has never been easier.
One thing to remember is that AI is a tool. There are certain things we can do that AI will never be able to replace. Perhaps the greatest attribute we have that AI can’t replicate is the ability to innovate. Nothing AI makes is truly unique as it pulls from a large set of human-made data.
It is just an advancement in technology. Like how people advanced from painting to photography, it may make things quicker, but it still takes skill and a creative mind to fully utilize its capabilities.
As you work to follow AI trends in SEO, content creation, advertising, and other areas, your marketing efforts will be rewarded. If you haven’t started using AI in your marketing strategy, you’re already falling behind. Luckily, you can rely on us at i4 Solutions as your guide in the digital marketing industry.
